21% parents prefer schools near to home, says survey

Parents in the national capital region seem to move beyond as now for them, the academic record as not just the only parameter to choose schools for their children.

In an online survey conducted by admissionsnursery.com, it was revealed that while distance and fee structure are still the top most concerns in parents’ minds, factors such as holistic development and emphasis on co-curricular activities are equally important for selecting a school for their wards.

The survey, in which around 1,700 parents from NCR participated, found that close to 21% of the parents choose a school on the basis of its distance from their house. Almost 18% said they will choose a school if its fee structure is adorable, nearly 17% voted for the institution’s proven track record as a key criterion.

While all these three criteria have been constant for the last many years, the category of holistic development got 16% votes for the first time.

“This trend is new and shows that parents are as interested in co-curricular activities as they are in academics. For instance, the schools which are give importance to lessons in horse riding, swimming and theatre, are receiving more attention,” said Sumit Vohra, the founder of admissionsnursery.com. Other factors that parents see before choosing a school included student-teacher ratio, infrastructure, course curriculum, day boarding and transport facility.

Distance is a major factor as it is also one of the categories based on which schools give points to applicants. The nursery guidelines for this year are expected to be out after December 15 and the sale of forms may start from January 2. There are about 4,500 schools in Delhi and NCR, of which over 2,000 are unaided private schools.